The six gahambars are five-day seasonal festivals, each associated with one of the six creations and with one of the Amesha Spentas: Maidhyoi-zaremaya for the sky in mid-spring, Maidhyoi-shema for the waters in midsummer, Paitishahya for the earth at harvest, Ayathrima for plants in autumn, Maidhyairya for cattle in midwinter, and Hamaspathmaedaya for humanity at the year's end. The defining feature is not the liturgy but the meal: attendance was traditionally obligatory, contributions were made according to means, and rich and poor sat and ate together — the texts treat failure to participate as a fault. In Iran the gahambar retains this character strongly, with village communities cooking communally. In India the observance became attenuated in many places and is maintained more formally. The institution is the clearest expression of a tradition that treats eating together across class lines as a religious act rather than a social courtesy.